


Vegas Lights

by Reed_Zone_Alert (Eliza_Reed)



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comic), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Cancelled Fics, Humor, Metal Sonic is Sonic Roboticized Theory, Parallel Universes, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:02:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26731810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eliza_Reed/pseuds/Reed_Zone_Alert
Summary: UPDATE, PLEASE READ THIS (OCT. 29, 2020): This fanfic has been cancelled. This particular story will remain up for those who want to read it, and I will work on a separate story based on the same concept.~~~~The former badnik looked down at his feet and let out a sigh. Well, the robotic equivalent, anyway. Metal was still bored out of his mind. He’d crashed the plane he stole a few miles away- if he turned his head, he’d see that the wreckage was still blazing- and the Green Hill Zone wasn’t all that exciting. Not really much opportunity for crime. He sighed again and settled his hands into his lap, patting his legs quietly- the only sound being the softclanksof metal against metal.He needed to go somewhere.Somewhere where he could do more evil, even if the crimes were only petty at best. Somewhere where he could steal another plane… and get a new paint job.With these thoughts having been turned into Metal’s new objective for the time being, the robot stood up, regarding the ugly green scenery with one last look of disgust before blasting off into the air.He’d come back later with some explosives and gasoline, and give the Zone a fiery makeover or something.
Relationships: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik & Metal Sonic, Metal Sonic & Miles "Tails" Prower, Metal Sonic & Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Jtlyk, this kind of takes place mainly in the game-verse, but there will be some elements from the Archie Comics thrown in here. Also, since I have trouble trying remember where all the games are in the timeline and stuff, let's just say this is in an alternate version of the game-verse and ignore all the plot holes in terms of canon, okay? Thanks.
> 
> EDIT: I decided to change the title of the fic after watching an edit for Metal Sonic by Instagram user _madison_edits_1_. Check out their stuff when you get the chance! You'll have to scroll a little ways to find the Metal Sonic edit, but trust me- it's worth it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE, PLEASE READ THIS (OCT. 29, 2020): This fanfic has been cancelled. This particular story will remain up for those who want to read it, and I will work on a separate story based on the same concept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit (Nov. 4, 2020) Again, in case you didn't read the tags or the chapter summary, I'll put it here too-
> 
> "UPDATE, PLEASE READ THIS (OCT. 29, 2020): This fanfic has been cancelled. This particular story will remain up for those who want to read it, and I will work on a separate story based on the same concept."
> 
> This means that this fic will no longer be updated. Now that I think about it, I MIGHT come back to this fic and rework it someday, in addition to writing the other one, but at this point I really don't know.

Metal Sonic’s bright red eyes glared up at Eggman in anger. The bald, overweight man himself sat in his pod, his maniacal laughter reverberating throughout the room and sending a chill down Sonic’s spine. It really didn’t help that the whole room was shadowed in darkness, the only sources of light being the flickering panels on the ceiling and all the different buttons and screens lining the consoles along the walls. Tails shivered, and gently pushed whimpering Cream- who was holding Cheese tightly in her arms- behind him protectively. 

“Well well well,” Eggman finally spoke, ceasing his evil laughter for the moment. That terrible smile never left his face, however. “Metal Sonic has _finally_ come home, after all these years.”

“Indeed, I have,” Metal Sonic replied, his death glare towards the doctor unwavering. Interestingly enough, the man had not made any comment whatsoever on his former slave's new paint job. “I have returned to fulfill my original mission… my original _purpose_. To defeat _you_ , Doctor.”

Eggman’s smile faltered slightly at this declaration. Sonic whipped his head to the side, looking at his metallic twin in confusion. And then he remembered their previous conversation not too long ago. It was so easy to forget. But he didn’t get to finish this train of thought as Eggman interrupted, practically snarling at Metal Sonic, “Your original _purpose_ was to serve me. To help me take control of this planet, and then afterwards, the multiverse! I made you what you are now- my greatest creation! There’s still time for you to finish your mission. Do so, and then I might consider… _alleviating_ your punishment slightly.”

Metal turned his head and looked over at Sonic, and then at Tails and Cream, the gears of his mechanical brain whirring in thought. The robotic hedgehog then turned away, looking down at his hands. They were still shiny, despite everything they had been through. Despite all the damage he had sustained over the years, despite all the blood he spilled, despite all the point-blank explosions and many crash-landings… He could see the reflection of his face, the final result of Eggman’s terrible experiments. He examined his claws, marveling at them as he thought about how- with just a single swipe of one of his clawed hands- he could easily end an organic’s life just like that.

Eggman’s life.

Metal lifted his head, red eyes narrowed with years of pent-up rage. The mechanical hedgehog clenched his fists briefly before opening them back up, sharp claws extending. “No. That was _your_ purpose for me. _My_ purpose was to defeat you. _My_ purpose _is_ to defeat you. I am going to do what I should have done a long time ago, when I had the chance. And that is to end you.” He took a step closer, his eyes now lighting up- both literally and figuratively- with a murderous glee at the prospect. _“I_ am _not_ your ‘greatest creation.’ _I_ am your _biggest_ and your _last_ mistake.”

With that having been said, Metal Sonic wasted no time and leapt towards Eggman, a clawed hand raised and ready to be brought back down in the name of death.

* * *

_Some time ago… location: Green Hill Zone_

Metal Sonic pulled the pilot’s jacket higher around his chrome shoulders, ignoring the tickling sensation left on his armoured cheeks by the aforementioned jacket’s faux fur. He’d stolen it, along with a G.U.N. plane carelessly left unattended, a few hours ago. In the past few weeks, Metal had grown bored of “laying low.” It wasn’t as if Eggman were here to reprimand him now anyways. The man did kick him out, after all. The incident with his rebellion against his so-called “creator” did not come without its repercussions.

Strangely enough, rather than reprograming or disassembling him, Eggman just kicked him out. Perhaps the doctor had simply gotten so tired of Metal’s failures that the robot’s rebellion had been the last straw, he simply decided that the robot was not worth his time and energy anymore. Eggman did let Metal off with the warning that if he ever got in his way in conquering the world, that he would _not_ be so “merciful” next time.

In any case, the man had nothing to worry about.

Metal was done. He was done trying to prove that he was the _real_ Sonic. He was done trying to take what was rightfully _his._

The former badnik looked down at his feet and let out a sigh. Well, the robotic equivalent, anyway. Metal was still bored out of his mind. He’d crashed the plane he stole a few miles away- if he turned his head, he’d see that the wreckage was still blazing- and the Green Hill Zone wasn’t all that exciting. Not really much opportunity for crime. He sighed again and settled his hands into his lap, patting his legs quietly- the only sound being the soft _clanks_ of metal against metal.

He needed to go somewhere.

Somewhere where he could do more evil, even if the crimes were only petty at best. Somewhere where he could steal another plane… and get a new paint job.With these thoughts having been turned into Metal’s new objective for the time being, the robot stood up, regarding the ugly green scenery with one last look of disgust before blasting off into the air.

He’d come back later with some explosives and gasoline, and give the Zone a fiery makeover or something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shortness of this first chapter- I'll try to make the next one longer! Constructive criticism is always appreciated, FLAMES are NOT.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking some inspiration from one of Sega Scourge's theories about a certain someone. However, I am putting some of my own twists on it. But the main concept is the same. I first heard of this theory when reading the fanfic "Virtual Insanity" by LuckyMiku64- give it a read when you guys get the chance!

Metal jerked to a halt, hovering uncertainly at the edge of the Green Hill Zone. The change in scenery ahead was not what was bothering him- the desert had been there long before he had been “created.” Therefore, it was not the source of his confusion nor his fascination. No, the source of these was the strange, lavender-coloured disk floating above the ground, nestled in a somewhat inconspicuous corner protected by rock and short trees. The robotic hedgehog tilted his head and proceeded to land, intent on getting a closer look.

Perhaps this strange phenomenon was worth a small detour.

Metal tilted his head to other side as he approached the disk, his lines of code appearing all across his optical screen as he scanned the mysterious object. An alert flashed in his CPU- evidently, this object was a tear in the space-time continuum. _Recommendation: Please consult your local temporal technician._ Metal smacked the side of his head in annoyance as the rogue lines of code forming that alert disappeared. When he was finished here, he’d have to get his CPU looked at. The mech broke off some of the lower hanging branches that were in his way and tossed them over his shoulder, not even bothering to look where he was aiming.

“OW!”

Metal whipped around, what little remained of his nanites making their way to his lower arm and morphing it into a small, yet potentially deadly cannon. “You,” the robotic hedgehog growled in contempt, aiming his arm-cannon at none other than Sonic the Hedgehog himself. Beside the said hedgehog (who was still sitting on his rear- stunned from the blow, no doubt- and clutching his head) stood Tails, who was holding what appeared to be a large, yellow tablet with handles. A mostly-faded memory wormed its way to Metal’s consciousness. He whacked the side of his head again, irritated. Why was it that _now_ of all times his CPU had to start malfunctioning?

“What do you want?” Metal growled at the duo.

“You think you could look the next time you throw something?” Sonic asked, finally getting to his feet as he continued to rub his head. “And I could ask you the same- what do _you_ want? What’re you doing _here??”_

“I arrived here first. Therefore, the space-time singularity is mine to examine as I see fit.”

Sonic could barely resist the urge to facepalm. Tails just looked down at the tablet in his hands, studying what scans he could get from this distance. Which, while it wasn’t far, would’ve been a lot more detailed if he could get closer.

“How about this,” Sonic started, not really in the mood to get in a fight with Metal right now over _singularity_ of all things. “We both take a look at the singu-whatever-it-is at the same time, and whoever figures out exactly what it is first wins? Deal?”

“You are proposing a race,” Metal stated.

 _Well duh,_ Sonic thought. “Yeah. A race.”

“This is acceptable,” Metal told him, turning away from the duo. His arm-cannon morphed back into a regular arm as he stepped closer to the singularity. Sonic sighed in relief and approached the strange object in question, motioning for Tails to follow. The amber fox eyed Metal warily before doing so.

Both Metal and Tails scanned the anomaly, their minds coming up with different theories and discarding them just as quickly. Five minutes later, Metal beeped in triumph. “Ha! I have won! I have finally beaten you, Sonic!” The mech beeped again, ecstatic. He finally did it! He had finally proven-

“So what is it?” Tails asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

“It appears to be a portal to an alternate dimension,” Metal replied in a somewhat obnoxious tone. “Perhaps one parallel to our own!”

“That’s… actually what I got too,” Tails admitted. “It looks like it’s stable enough for us to go through- and it’s relatively safe. Well, the portal is, anyway. It won’t crush us or anything. But I’m not too sure if I want to know what’s on the other side of th-” The young fox was cut off as a creature stumbled blindly through the portal, clutching its side in pain. While it took Sonic and Tails a full three seconds to realise what it was, Metal had recognised it instantly. The mech stepped back in horror as his dimensional database identified the creature. It was another Tails. And not just any “another” Tails.

Before Metal could fully grasp the implications of this revelation, the Alternate Tails was already back onto his feet. He still clutched his clearly wounded side in pain, eyes flicking from this universe’s version of him to Sonic. His eyes widened a fraction. “S- Sonic?...” He then turned his head to look at Metal, who stared back at him in shock, arm-cannon at the ready. “…”

“I was told you were dead,” Metal stated, attempting to maintain an emotionless tone in his voice. _He is supposed to be dead- this should not b-B-B-e PoS-S-poS-sible- Pos- DOES NOT COMPUTE, DOES NOT COMPU-_ He slapped the side of his head for the third time that day, this time to no avail. _D-035 N03-COMPU-4q9e9Jt348euT465… ERROR, ErRor-_

Miles- as Metal was now dubbing him for the time being- looked at him with a confused expression, legs trembling weakly. “Dead?? What? Who are you-” Miles fell to his knees. Sonic quickly grabbed the injured fox, and scooped him up gently.

“We need to get him to a doctor,” Sonic said quietly, snapping Metal out of his jumbled mental loop. Without another word, the speedster took off. Tails followed after him, his fluffy tails spinning in flight. Metal glanced at the lavender portal, which was now flickering and shrinking. It would be gone, in a moment. Shaking his head, he lowered his gaze to the deep tracks left behind by Sonic’s sneakers. If he wanted answers as to what was _really_ going on, then he knew that there was only one place where he _could_ get them.

And so, casting one last look towards the fading gateway, Metal blasted off, following Sonic’s trail.

* * *

Metal stood in the corner of the waiting room, arms crossed as he leaned his back against the wall. Twisted and unreadable strings of code were running rampant throughout his CPU, crashing into each other every 0.000000000005478 of a second, increasing the number of impacts per that particular interval exponentially. _What is he D-D-d-D-do1N5-5-g H-393- doing here- h-H-h-3- he should n-0-t b-B-B-be here- ERROR, ERROR, ER-_

“Metal!” Sonic’s voice cut into his mechanical twin’s thoughts, disrupting the tangled mess of code and dispersing them for the time being. “Metal- what are you doing here??”

The robot in question tilted his head towards Sonic, who was sitting in one of the waiting room chairs and had apparently just now noticed his presence. Tails was absent- no doubt he was in the restroom at this moment. Metal huffed, not moving from the spot he had claimed as his own. “I am here for the same reason you are.”

“Yeah, well I’m surprised nobody’s called the cops or G.U.N. on you yet- especially since word has it you stole one of G.U.N.’s planes a few hours ago and took it for a joyride,” Sonic said, clearly unimpressed. He then looked around the room and realised that it was empty, save for the receptionist snoozing away on her desk. Strange, but it wasn’t as if the hedgehog was going to complain either. Less chance of catching a cold or worse. “Then again… there’s really no one here _to_ call anybody on you.”

Tails exited the bathroom, stretching his arms and yawning as he made his way to where Sonic was. The amber fox yelped in fear upon seeing Metal.

There was a time where this reaction would’ve hurt. Where it would’ve _stung_. But now, after years of pain and suffering and just barely surviving on flaming hot hatred… he took joy in the fear in Tails’ eyes. His red eyes brightened as the feeling surged through his circuitry.

The nurse- a male wolf with a fluffy mane and clad in hospital nurse uniform- entered the room. “He’s awake now- but I must warn you, his condition is still somewhat critical. Try not to stress him out too much, okay?”

Sonic nodded, standing up. He and Tails started following the nurse down the hall. A clanking behind them announced the fact that Metal was following _them_ too. Within a minute or two, they were all standing there in the room (minus the nurse and the doctor, who had both taken off to take care of other patients). Miles, who looked like he hadn’t slept in a week (perhaps he _hadn’t)_ , lifted his tired blue eyes to look at Tails, and then at Sonic. “This isn’t _my_ world… right?” the amber fox asked weakly, the little sliver of hope he had in his eyes earlier quickly fading away.

“No, it’s not,” Tails answered.

“Who are you?” Metal demanded, walking up to Miles on the opposite side of the bed. “You are not Miles ‘Tails’ Prower. Who are you??”

Miles looked up at the robot in confusion. Unlike with Tails, there was no terror in his eyes. Not a single sign of fear, not a hint of disgust. Just… confusion. “But that’s my name, word for word,” Miles said, tilting his head as he studied Metal. “Who are you? You look familiar, but-”

 _“Who are you, COPY!?”_ Metal roared in sudden boiling hot rage, reaching a clawed hand towards Miles throat- presumably to ensnare it. Sonic leaped over the bed and crashed into his metallic twin, sending them both flying across the room and into the wall.

“What the heck is _wrong_ with you?!” Sonic practically roared as he pinned Metal to the floor. “You can’t just go _strangling_ my best friend like that, no matter _what_ universe he’s from! I don’t know what _your_ problem is, but if you want _answers_ , then maybe you should _use_ that brain of yours for once! It got put into your stupid head for a reason!... I, uhh- I think.”

Metal, who had shoved his hand in Sonic’s face in an attempt to shove the hedgehog off of him, paused this action. As much as he hated to admit it, his copy was right. If Metal wanted to know what was going on and who this fox in the hospital bed was really and why a portal randomly showed up at the edge of the Green Hill Zone, then aggression was probably not an option at this time. Which was a shame- he was very good at using aggression to get what he wanted. “Very well,” Metal said, letting his hand fall away from Sonic’s face.

Sonic sighed in relief and got off of the robot. Metal slapped away the other hedgehog’s hand when it was offered to him- he was not a child, he could get up himself. Besides, he would never willingly be caught dead accepting help from his loathsome copy.

Meanwhile, Sonic wondered whether or not this would be a good time to call G.U.N. himself and tell them that their plane-stealing android was here. But then again, Metal wasn’t trying to kill him right now. At least not yet. And Sonic wasn’t about to waste a chance to try and turn Metal.

He’d like to think that maybe, just maybe, there was at least a tiny bit of good in the guy.

Metal turned back around to face Miles, fists clenched. Ah, there it was now- a hint of fear, the tiniest shred of doubt. _“Who_ are _you?”_

 _“Miles ‘Tails’ Prower,”_ Miles told him, putting heavy emphasis on each part of his name. He looked over at Sonic and said, “You’re Sonic… right?” Sonic nodded in reply, and Miles then turned his head to look at Tails. “And you’re… me from this world??”

“Yup!” Tails smiled and gave him a thumbs up. “This is so cool! I know I’ve studied the concept of parallel realities and timeline splits and all that before, but it- it was all just _in theory-_ I never thought it could be _real!”_

“At least someone’s enthusiastic about it,” Sonic snarked quietly at Metal. He received no response from the robot.

Miles smiled back at Tails, but his was strained, as if he had been weighed down by something for many years. The fox then looked over at Metal. “But… you… I don’t know who you are, but I feel like I know you.” Metal crossed his arms and leaned his back against the wall, not responding right away. So Miles went on, “So… who are you?”

Metal remained quiet for 1.000045 seconds and then answered, “Metal Sonic.” That was his full designation, after all. The robot looked down as he lifted an unclenched hand, studying its copper plating. It had been so long since he…

He quickly closed his fist in anger as the memory file, which hadn’t been interacted with for some time now, began to play in his head. If only he had a program that could purge these unwanted memories. If only he hadn’t been left with these memories in the first place, untouched. Unaltered. There just to spite him.

_Ten years ago…_

_The pain faded slowly from his body as the gases inside the clear glass capsule dispersed. His vision, now seeming as if it had a blood-red filter over it, was blurred- unable to focus on anything. His vision slowly cleared up, though the “filter” was still there. He was on his hands and knees, unable to move. How could he move? How was he supposed to be able to move in this body? This shell that housed his soul… was it even his soul to begin with? Or was he just a copy? Was he still real, or was he a fake? As his gaze landed on one of those monstrous, clawed hands that could only be his, the answer came to him._

_He was not real._

_The capsule that surrounded him raised up, and he shivered as cool air struck his armour. Was it just him, or did it feel so much colder in here? He lifted his head up weakly, still having trouble trying to understand how to control his new body in the first place. His eyes locked onto the mustached man standing a ways away, hidden by the shadows. The one who had turned him into_ this. _In that moment he finally picked apart the last of his new programming. Finally comprehending the chunk of code that allowed him to control his body. He slowly pushed himself onto his feet, wobbling as he tried to maintain his balance._

He did this to me, _was his first truly complete string of thought._ He turned me 1Nt0 tH-Th-this- ERROR- _He lowered himself into a low crouch, glaring at the man responsible. He loathed that smug look so much- he would make him pay-_

_He sprung towards the man, claws extended, the thruster in his chest kicking on. As he rushed forward to attack his target, a terrible shock tore through his mechanical body. His thruster sputtered, then fell silent. He crashed onto the floor, letting out a yelp of pain._

_His voice._

_That was not_ his _voice._

_This voice was one belonging to a machine. A broken machine._

_“Just a little safety measure, to keep you in line until I know you’re really under my control,” the man told him gleefully. “We’re going to have so much_ fun _together, you and I!”_

_He looked up at the man’s face, a wave of disgust coming over him as he saw the mocking smile played across his lips. “You won’t get away with this.”_

_The man bent over, his smile growing wider. “I already have.”_

Metal watched as a degree of recognition came over Miles’ face. The fox, while having never encountered him face to face until this very moment, had to have at least heard of him. Of how he had helped Eggman take control of almost the whole planet, roboticising any and all organic lifeforms they encountered along the way. Of how he helped Eggman burn all the forests and jungles to the ground, leaving nothing there except for smoking craters. Destroying those who dared to fight back, until there was nothing but a small band of still-organic fighters- joined with some revenge-seeking robots- left to rebel against the Eggman Empire.

“You…” Miles’ confusion and fear dissolved into anger and hate. “You killed Sonic!”

“No,” Metal replied, his emotionless voice unwavering. “The Doctor is responsible for your ‘friend’s’ demise. _I_ had _nothing_ to do with it.” Which was a lie, in a manner of speaking. He had everything to do with it. But Miles, nor the others, needed to know that. “I was told by him that _you_ were killed not long after my ‘creation.’ How is it that you are _alive?”_

“Why is it that you’re not trying to kill me? Or the rest of us, for that matter?” Miles shot back. “That’s your purpose, right? That’s what Eggman built you for.”

“I am no longer serving the Doctor, not the one from your world, and not the version from this one,” Metal answered, his voice darkening into a growl. “The only things I desire at this moment are the truth, and to prove to this _copy-”_ The last word came from his vocal chip as a snarl, and he waved a hand at Sonic as he spoke, “- that _I_ am the _real_ Sonic.”

Alright, so maybe he wasn’t done trying. If there was anything he and this inferior copy of his had in common, it was that they were both stubborn to the end.

Sonic facepalmed at Metal’s words, and Tails just rolled his eyes. Some people just didn’t change, and it seemed to them that the robot was one of those people. “You just don’t stop, do you?” Sonic asked his mechanical twin tiredly.

“Do _you?”_ Metal snarked back at him instantly.

“So… you’re from another universe too?” Sonic pressed, straightening up. “And Eggman… he killed me?”

“Killed you? No. Ended your chapter as the one of the world’s most revered heroes?” Metal’s eyes darkened a fraction. “Yes.”

Sonic looked at Miles for an explanation. The fox looked back at him, just as confused. Tails didn’t seem to have much of a clue either. The hedgehog then looked back at Metal. “But… that’s basically the same thing, just in different words!”

“So it would seem,” Metal replied after a moment of silence.

“But how’d you end up here?” Tails asked. “Did you come through a portal like he did?” He gestured to Miles for reference.

“And why would Eggman tell you I’m dead when I’m obviously not??” Miles added, his voice demanding for an answer.

Metal turned his head towards Miles, quiet as he considered his next response. “How many years,” he began, some hesitancy in his voice, “has it been since your Sonic was killed?”

“Ten… why?”

Metal didn’t answer. The robot stood there for a couple of seconds, unmoving. He whipped around 180 degrees and, ignoring the protests and questions coming from both Sonic and Tails, walked towards the open window and climbed onto the sill. The propeller in his chest _whooshed_ to life, and he let go of the window sill, blasting off.

He wasn’t going to get involved in this. Never again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not totally sure how to feel about this chapter... I think it's just okay, but that could be just because I'm tired and I have low-ish self-esteem rn??... Ehhh.
> 
> Constructive criticism is appreciated. Flames are NOT.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some mixed feelings about this chapter, but anyways... constructive criticism is appreciated, FLAMES are NOT.

_Seven years ago…_

_Three years. Three years since he had been turned into_ this. _Three years since his life ended forever. Three years since he had become nothing more than a shell housing a copy of his former self. Looking down at his titanium talons, Metal let out a digitised snort of disgust. He would never be able to look his friends in the eyes again. They probably wouldn’t even recognise him in this state. Heck, were they even_ his _friends?? No. They were not_ his _friends. They were the friends of the one who he was a_ copy _of. Metal lifted his gaze to the cell wall in front of him, crimson eyes staring at the steel barrier less than two feet away from him._

_Something in him just snapped._

_With a roar of barely-suppressed-now-no-longer-suppressed rage, Metal slashed the wall with a clawed hand- leaving behind thin yet somewhat deep tears in the steel paneling. He stared at the marks in the wall for a moment, and bubble of laughter escaped him in the form of a beep. He lifted his other hand and brought it down upon the wall, reveling in the sensation of his talons ripping it to shreds. He beeped again, and began to tear into the paneling with greater force and speed. That is, until five seconds later the shock collar around his neck tore through his body with a violent burst of voltage. Metal fell to his knees and elbows, crying out in pain._

_“Now, now- none of that,” his captor’s voice rang mockingly in the speakers on the walls outside the cell. “You should be grateful that I even let you live!”_

I’d be a lot more thankful if I were dead, _Metal thought to himself, clenching his fists._

_“Oh, and one more thing… my Egg Pawns found a couple of your little friends hiding out in one of the abandoned warehouses in Station Square. Do the names ‘Tails,’ ‘Espio,’ and ‘Sally’ ring a bell?”_

_“…_ what _did you_ do?” _Metal snarled at the nearest speaker._

 _“Me??_ I _did_ nothing. _My Egg Pawns on the other hand have been_ very _busy… I must admit, your friends put up quite the fight- even if it was for nothing.”_

_“N- no… you- they…” Metal lowered his head to the floor, sobs bursting from his voice chip. “They can’t be…”_

_“They_ are. _Now stop acting like a pathetic_ child _and pull yourself together! I have your very first mission planned out, and I’d like to get some degree of_ use _out of you…”_

Metal sat on the cliffside, his legs dangling over the edge, and his eyes just staring down at the night-blanketed, violently crashing seaside waves below. What was the name of this place again? “Seaside” something or other. In any case, the name did not matter. No. What mattered was what he was going to do next. It would be so easy. Just push himself off the edge, ignore the rapid descent warning alert that his self-preservation program was sure to blare, and then…

“Uhh…”

Metal whipped his head around to see Sonic standing a ways away from him. “You,” the robot growled, but with less… _heat_ than usual. “What do _you_ want?”

“…”

Metal growled again when Sonic didn’t reply. How stupid could this hedgehog possibly be?? As this thought popped into his CPU, a sinking feeling in his chest made its presence known. He was that stupid, once. Before he became the monster he was now.

“I really didn’t expect to see you here,” Sonic finally said. “Or again at all, really.” He slowly walked over to where Metal was sitting and plopped down next to him, legs also dangling over the side. “This is my favourite place to just… stop and think, y’know? It’s quiet and peaceful… nobody around.”

Metal only hummed in agreement. Years ago, he used to like coming here too. Well, _his_ universe's equivalent, anyway. While he could never remember the name correctly, the beauty of the place… he lifted his gaze to the pitch black sky dotted with bright stars. Darker streams of light- no doubt the Milky Way- were splotched across the sky as well. And all this was reflected by the ocean water, occasionally obscured by the colliding waves.

And then it happened.

His fourth mission. Or maybe it was his fifth- but it mattered not. The beauty had been destroyed, and all that was left behind in his wake were flames and…

“Metal??” Sonic gently nudged his mechanical twin. “You okay?”

Metal’s thoughts were torn away from the past back to the present. And he clenched his fists. “What do you care? I am nothing. Nothing but your _shadow._ Not even your shadow. I am simply _nothing.”_ He pulled his armoured legs up and tucked them underneath his chin, wrapping his arms around them at the same time.

“Metal…”

“Why are you here?”

Sonic was quiet for a long moment. “Because I needed to think… Tails- not my Tails, the other one- he said that I’m dead in the other universe. That Eggman killed me…”

“There are many things in that reality that are different from yours,” Metal said. “This place… a few years after my creation, it was destroyed. All the buildings in ruins… all the inhabitants slain by _my_ hands…”

“How is it that your universe wound up being so different from mine?” Sonic murmured softly.

“Sometimes it only takes one person, one difference in their personality, to cause the timeline skew into a different direction,” Metal answered. “One action. One mistake. One _error_. A single underestimation of your foe, and it costs you the entire world.”

“Is that what happened to me?” Sonic asked, looking at Metal. “In your universe, I underestimated Eggman, and I… I died?”

It was 1.20000456 seconds before Metal replied, “Affirmative.” There was a pause of 0.64789 seconds. “What happened to the fox?”

“The other Tails, you mean? He’s holding up okay- physically, anyway,” Sonic told him. “He got injured in a fight with some Egg Fighters and was trying to get away from them when that portal showed up. He didn’t have anywhere else to run, so…”

“He ran through,” Metal finished, a hint of… _something_ in his voice.

“Yeah. Tails- my Tails, that is- he’s trying to figure out a way to open up a portal to your universe. So for one, we can take the other Tails back there- and two, to see if we can do anything about Eggman.” There was another pause. “You never answered my question.”

“Be more specific in your statement.”

“I asked if you came through a portal like the other Tails did. So… did you?”

“Yes,” Metal answered. “I came here, not of my own accord and heavily damaged. Your Doctor Eggman- one of his patrols had found my body in the woods- repaired me, and I served under him for several years before my rebellion. But how I came to be here is irrelevant to the situation. Are you certain that it is in your world’s best interests to fight a war that is not yours? To fight an evil more terrible and dangerous than the one here? Is it truly worth it?”

“I can’t just leave things there the way they are in good conscience,” Sonic retorted. “That’s not me- that’s not how I roll. If there’s anything I can do to help and try to save that world… I gotta try, Mets. I gotta try. Even if it kills me too. Even if I lose. I still have to try.”

“Am I trapped within a closed timelike curve? That is the exact same attitude that led you to your demise,” Metal replied, deciding to ignore the nickname Sonic had just given him for the time being. “You will fail. It is inevitable. And then this world will be left without a hero, and will eventually suffer the same fate as my own.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. There are plenty of heroes in this world besides me-”

“That is the way it was in _my_ world, and yet it is in ruins,” Metal snarled, digging his claws into his own armour. Despite the warning system blaring in his head, he ignored it. Instead, he opted to dig his talons even further into his own metal. “What makes you think that you will succeed-”

“What makes you think that my future is set??” Sonic interrupted. Metal turned his head to look at the hedgehog, and saw something unidentifiable in his green eyes. “You know a lot more than you’re saying. And I think I might know why.” Metal’s crimson optics flicked away from the Mobian next to him. Sonic went on, “The other me didn’t really die, did he? Not in the traditional sense, anyway… he was _roboticised._ Wasn’t he?”

“I-” There was tremor in Metal’s voice. Something Sonic thought he’d never hear. “If you tell anyone, and I mean _anyone_ , I will end you before the Doctor has the chance to do so himself.”

“Geez,” Sonic muttered. “Talk about cranky.”

“I am not ‘cranky,’” Metal growled. “I simply wish to no longer be associated with a past that is dead to me.”

“You’re afraid to face your own problems,” Sonic said.

“I am not afraid of anything.”

“Yeah? Then why’d you run away, huh?”

In a swift motion, Metal was on his feet and turning to walk away. “I do not have to listen to _this!”_

“Wait! Mets! Wait- I’m sorry!” Sonic was now on his feet too, putting a hand on his mechanical twin’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, okay? You’ve obviously been through a lot- a lot more than I ever have, I’m sure, and it’s clearly taken a toll on you. And I shouldn’t be tearing into you over it. It’s not fair to you. We may have been enemies for a long time, but that still doesn’t give me the right to do that.” Metal didn’t say a word in reply, but he didn’t pull away either. Sonic decided that was progress. Hopefully. The blue hedgehog wrapped his arms around Metal’s shoulders and pulled him into a hug- more likely than not, the robot hasn’t had one in many years, and if Sonic was going to prove to him that they could move on from their rivalry, and perhaps even become friends, then he- “he” being Sonic himself- had to take the first step.

Of course, Metal might very well decide to rip his face off after this.

The mechanical hedgehog definitely stiffened in his embrace. But he again didn’t pull away. He just stood there, not returning the hug, but not violently attacking Sonic either. Maybe there was a slim chance they could be friends after all. Or at least allies.

It was a full 6.009475696 seconds before Sonic released Metal from his hold. The robot stared at him blankly, unable to form any words whatsoever. What was he supposed to say? His counterpart from another universe just _hugged_ him. And Metal was pretty sure that if he did a search online in his internal browser for an appropriate response to such a situation, he would find no relevant results (as is the norm for most of his searches, frustratingly enough), if any.

“Hedgehog got your voice chip?” Sonic asked, a hint of an amused smile playing across his lips.

“…” Metal looked a little off to the right, feeling _very_ unsure as to what would even come close to the optimal response. He finally locked his gaze on the other hedgehog, who still had that knowing smirk on his face. “If you are to rush into a lost cause of a war, then I suppose I should be there to assist you and increase your exceedingly low chances of succeeding- however slimly my presence would increase said chances.” He blinked. “As I stated previously, it would be preferable if you did not tell anyone of my true nature.”

“Mets, I’m not gonna tell anyone, I promise,” Sonic explained gently. “You have my word, okay?”

Metal, after a moment, nodded. “Thank you.”

“Let’s head back to the hospital- I wanna check up on the other Tails before we head over my Tails’ workshop.”

“Very well,” Metal replied, revving up his chest’s engine. “Shall we race?”

Sonic’s smile widened a bit more. “Heck yeah- I’ll even give you a head start!”

* * *

_Later…_

After stopping by the hospital (the nurse there told Sonic and Metal that visiting hours were over, and Miles was sleeping anyway, so she advised them to return in the morning), the two hedgehogs finally arrived at Tails’ workshop. Naturally, the amber fox was less than enthusiastic about Metal’s arrival.

“Why are _you_ here?” Tails demanded, glaring at the mech in question. Metal could not fault him for this. The fox had every right to be cautious.

“I am here to assist you and my copy in defeating the Doctor from my universe,” Metal answered carefully. If he got the chance- it was highly unlikely, but still- he would kill his Doctor Eggman himself. The man was far too dangerous to leave alive and- even if Metal was being influenced by what tiny shred of good was left in his cold, robotic body- he desired- no, he _hungered_ for revenge. Eggman had turned him into _this_ , and used him as a weapon against the very people he’d sworn to protect. Metal was going to make certain that the villain regretted that decision. Violent ideas of what he would do to Eggman once he got ahold of him swarmed his code.

But there was no way he was going to tell Sonic or Tails of these thoughts, lest they object due to their “goody-two-shoes” point of view.

It took a full two seconds for Sonic to realise the words “my copy” were referring to him. He sighed, and shook his head as he settled down in a nearby chair. Some things never change. Tails looked at his friend with an incredulous expression, and Sonic couldn’t help but laugh a little at the fox’s confusion. “As outta this world as it sounds, he really is here to help.”

“Right- and how are we supposed to trust him, exactly??” Tails asked, crossing his arms.

Metal tilted his head to look at Sonic, waiting to see what the hedgehog’s response would be. In spite of knowing what Sonic’s personality was like since at one point in time they were both virtually the same person, he still couldn’t help but be distrustful of his counterpart. Ten years of pain and suffering and becoming so much of a monster that you can hardly recognise yourself kind of does that to you.

Especially when he couldn’t figure out if he had no choice. If he did… then what did that make him? A monster from the very beginning. It just took some pain and whatnot to set it free.

 _I truly am a monster,_ Metal realised before focusing his audio receptors on Sonic. It had taken 0.3586868 seconds for the hedgehog to respond to Tails’ query.

“I know you don’t trust him Tails- and I don’t blame you,” Sonic said. “But can you trust me on this? Please?”

Tails sighed uncertainly. While he did trust Sonic’s judgement, he definitely did _not_ trust Metal. The amber fox wiped his brow, trying to veer his thoughts away from the annoying, inevitable loop of paradoxical thoughts that would ensue. “Fine, fine… anyway, I think I’ve found a way to open a portal to the other universe.” He motioned for both Sonic and Metal to follow him. The former stood up, wincing in some pain as his joints popped before walking after Tails. His mechanical twin fell into step behind him. The two Mobians and single Robian approached what appeared to be a giant arc-like structure. Atop the aforementioned structure sat one of Sonic’s many gold rings, inside a small glass capsule.

“Ring identified,” Metal announced as he looked up at the ring, head tilted. “Composition: unknown alloy, possibly created using extraterrestrial materials. Normal variant grants healing abilities and- in the event one hundred are collected- can allow Chaos Empowered individuals to, as you would put it, ‘turn Super.’ Power variant-”

“Mets. Sorry, but now’s kinda not the time.”

Metal turned to look at Sonic, tilting his head the other way. “My apologies. I-”

 _“Anyway,”_ Tails interrupted, not even glancing at the robot he was interrupting as he spoke, “You remember that one experiment I was doing? The one where I was trying to see if I could merge a hundred of your rings into a single ring to turn it into an artificial power one? Well, I was able to do that- so I can open a portal for us cross into alternate dimensions now. The problem is that there’s only enough power in this ring for two trips. And one of us is going to have to stay behind to open the portal again for you guys to come back. So I figured you guys can go through the first time with the other me, kick Eggman’s butt and save the world, and then I can open the portal again for you and Metal Sonic-”

“Metal,” Metal corrected. The nickname “Mets” he determined would be reserved for Sonic’s use only. But the name “Metal Sonic” had begun to irk the robotic hedgehog. And he wasn’t sure exactly _why_. He would file this away for further consideration later.

“Okay,” Tails said, his voice tinted with puzzlement. He looked back at Sonic. “As I was saying, I can open the portal again for you and Metal to come back through once you’re finished with things in the other universe.”

“Why is it that you cannot make more of these power rings?” Metal asked.

“It took me forever just to try and make this one,” Tails answered, now annoyed. “Not to mention the process is really _really_ dangerous- I almost blew myself up twice trying to make this thing! I probably won’t be so lucky if I did it again.”

A strange, twisty feeling came over Metal’s abdominal region. Almost like… _fear?_ Fear? Fear of what? Fear of Tails being hurt?? This did not compute. Metal did not- he _should not_ feel such things. He should not feel fear. He should not feel concern. He was a killing machine, and nothing more. But then again, he wasn’t exactly a _normal_ robot, was he?

_Th-15 6035- doEs N-0-00-t CoMp- ERROR, ERROR, ERR-_

“Mets?”

Sonic’s voice cut in through the loop, disrupted it. Metal looked up at him, blinking. He would have to have someone look at his CPU once this was over. To have his thoughts leading to this many corrupted loops in such a short amount of time was not good. “I am here,” Metal said.

“Are you okay?” Sonic asked gently.

Metal’s blank gaze turned into one of wariness. “Since when have _you_ of all people _ever_ been concerned for _my_ well-being??”

“Ever since you stopped trying to kill me?” Sonic offered, shrugging. Metal did not appear to be amused. He just crossed his arms and looked away. Sonic frowned, then turned his attention back to Tails. “So in the meantime, we’ll just have to wait until the other you is well enough to come with us before we go.”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Tails said, scratching his fluffy ear.

“If there’s one thing I hate besides Eggman,” Sonic muttered, “it’s waiting.”

“I find the anticipation of the act to be most enjoyable- for the most part,” Metal countered, looking at Sonic again. “While lying in wait for the perfect moment to kill, I envision all the various ways in which I can sink my claws into my prey.”

It wasn’t so much _what_ Metal said that was now bothering Sonic so much, but the fact that it was an alternate version of _himself_ who said it in the first place. “Uhhh…” He just looked back at Tails, deciding _not_ to address what Metal said for the moment. “Is there anything we can do to help in the meantime?”

“Not really,” Tails told them, yawning and stretching his arms. “I kinda need to go to bed now anyways. So I guess I’ll just see you in the morning.”

“Okay,” Sonic replied, pulling the smaller Mobian into a hug. “Goodnight, li’l buddy. Make sure you get at least eight hours of sleep-”

“Sonic, you’re not my mom!” Tails protested, his face flushing slightly. But nonetheless, he returned the hug. “I’ll make sure I get enough rest though, so don’t worry.”

Metal watched the scene with great interest as a soft aching in his chest made its presence known. He remembered when he would hug his Tails, back when Metal was still an organic. Before he had been roboticised and turned into a weapon of mass destruction. He looked down at one of his clawed hands. Even now, years later, his sensors could still detect some miniscule bits of residual blood caught in the metal from all the people he’s killed in the name of the Eggman Empire.

Metal looked away from his hand, shaking his head and lifting his gaze to Sonic and Tails, who were now removing themselves from their hug.

“See ya tomorrow!” And with that and a wave goodbye, Sonic started to head towards the workshop door. Metal wordlessly followed him, knowing he couldn’t stay in Tails’ shop- much as the robot secretly wanted to. As the two hedgehogs stepped out into the moonlight, Sonic turned his head to look at Metal. “You wanna stay at my place tonight? I’m not sure where you usually hang out nowadays…”

“I do not have a location at which I frequent to recharge my power supply,” Metal answered. “I recharge wherever it is convenient to me and I am unlikely to be spotted. And I do not believe it would be wise for me to follow you to your home. If the Doctor- that is, _your_ Doctor- were to recapture me for information, then my knowledge of your place of residence will likely put you at risk. Therefore, the optimal solution would be for me to follow my current usual strategy.”

“Awww, Mets… if I didn’t know any better,” Sonic said, a knowing smile coming over his face, “I’d say you care.”

“…” Metal stared at him blankly, trying (and failing miserably) to come up with a strong counterargument to dispute the other hedgehog’s assumption. “I care for no one,” he said bluntly. Naturally, his counterpart was unconvinced.

“Not to worry,” Sonic went on, his smirk only growing as he leaned a little closer to Metal, “I won’t tell a single soul.”

“Good,” Metal finally replied, having regained his voice. “Your very existence depends upon it.” His attempt to sound threatening fell flat on its face.

Sonic just shook his head, and his expression became serious again. “So I’ll see you here tomorrow, right?”

“Affirmative,” Metal told him.

Sonic nodded. “Alright then- goodnight, Metal.”

Metal only gave a nod in return and turned away, revving up his turbine’s engine. A split-second later, he was blasting off in the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The nickname "Mets" comes from TheEnigmaMachine's Metonic works- which you should totally check out when you get the chance! They're AMAZING skdkskdkd


	4. Chapter 4

_Five years ago… on Angel Island…_

_“Wanna go again, you overrated bucket of bolts?”_

_Metal crawled his way out of the crater left behind by Knuckles’ most recent barrage of Thunder Arrows, metal steaming hot and even melted in some places. “Preferably? No, I would not,” the mechanical hedgehog growled in response, falling weakly to his knees. “Surrender the Master Emerald now, and my master will not harm you.”_

_“Pfft- since when has an_ Eggman _robot ever cared about what happens to us?” Knuckles shot back, grabbing Metal by his shoulder pad. The echidna glared daggers at the robot, who now couldn’t even look him in the eye. “That what you told Sonic before you killed him??”_

_“Knuckles, I-” Metal’s voice crackled and warped into a cry of pain as electricity tore through both his body and Knuckles’. Knuckles screamed, dropping him. Next thing Metal knew, Knuckles was on the ground, unconscious from the high voltage he’d just received. While his scans registered that the echidna was still alive, Metal went ahead and checked his pulse anyway. He was indeed still alive. “I am sorry,” the mech murmured in a low voice. “I really did not want to hurt you…” He gave Knuckle’s limp hand a small squeeze before setting it gently on the ground. The robot stood up and started to stumble towards the Master Emerald._

_Something then slammed into him from behind, knocking him to the ground._

_“If you don’t want to hurt people,” Knuckles snarled, grabbing Metal by the arm and forcibly turning him around, “then you picked the wrong side to be on, buddy! Maybe this’ll knock some sense into you!” As the crimson Mobian spoke these last few words, he lifted a fist and moved in for the punch._

_Metal caught his fist, titanium joints shuddering as his arm struggled to fight back the opposing force. “Your choice is clear. Surrender the Master Emerald to me this instant, or suffer the consequences of your refusal.”_

_“Yeah?” A mocking smirk spread across Knuckles’ lips. “What’re you gonna do? Kill me??”_

_“… if I must,” Metal replied, his voice a few octaves lower._

Metal returned to the workshop the next day to find Sonic and Tails there, talking.

“You sure you don’t need me to do anything?” Sonic asked the two-tailed fox.

“Look, Sonic- if it makes you feel better, maybe you can go over to the hospital and check up on the other me for, well, me,” Tails told him. “And maybe you can stop by the hardware store and pick up some things for me?”

“Sure!” Sonic smiled happily, now that he had something to do that could help. He looked up and saw Metal standing in the doorway silently, watching them. “Hey, Mets- you wanna come with me?” He studied the mechanical hedgehog for a moment. “Then again, if anyone sees you in the city, you’ll probably get captured.”

Metal beeped in agreement, and tapped his titanium chin in thought. “Perhaps,” he started, “alterations to my appearance would be in order, so as to make it less likely for me to be taken prisoner. Then, if anyone were to ask, we could claim that the fox-”

“I have a name,” Tails objected, sitting down at a worktable and pulling out some tools and some parts.

“- constructed me to help counter the ‘Metal Sonic’ threat.” Metal made quotation marks as he said his name, and Sonic had to hold back a smile of amusement.

“That’s… actually a pretty smart idea,” Tails admitted, wincing as he spoke.

“Are you alright?” Metal asked, now looking directly at the fox. “Do you require medical attention?”

“… and there it goes,” Tails muttered. Sonic gave his friend a small elbow in the shoulder- not hard enough to hurt, obviously, but just to remind him to be at least a little polite. “Fine- but _I’m_ not doing it,” the fox said bluntly, not looking away from the tools in his hands.

Sonic- for about 0.5604884 seconds- appeared to be a bit unnerved and perhaps upset by Tails’ earlier words, but he instantly shifted back into his typical calm and collected demeanour. “It’s fine- I can do it!” He waved for Metal to follow him. Several stools were shoved in the corner, and on the shelves a few feet away were a collection of paint cans. “So uhh… what colours are you in the mood for?”

Metal carefully studied the selection of paints. He would be changing his appearance. And while it may not be permanent, he still wanted to choose colours he knew he wouldn’t mind wearing- at least for a while. Finally, he settled on black and gold for his new colour scheme. “These two,” he said, pointing to each of the aforementioned cans.

Sonic nodded and took the paint cans off their respective shelves. He set them down on the floor and motioned for Metal to sit down. “You might wanna take off that jacket,” he told the mech. Metal looked down at his pilot’s jacket (although technically it wasn’t _his_ to begin with). Wordlessly, he set it aside on one of the other stools and then sat down. Meanwhile, Sonic got the brushes as well as a couple plastic cups of water and asked, “So what colour do you want to start with first, and where do you want it?”

Metal considered the query for a moment, calculating an appropriate response. “I…” There was silence. Sonic waited quietly. This was the first time in many years Metal had thought about his outward appearance in this way. Finally the robot said, “The black one. We will start with black as the main coat, and then we will deal with the gold after.”

“Okay.” Sonic opened up the can of black paint and brought it closer to where Metal was sitting. The blue hedgehog squatted down and dipped his brush in the paint. After letting the excess drip off the brush back into the can, Sonic tilted the brush towards Metal’s leg and started making small, smooth, and swift strikes with the tip. It was a funny thing, for Sonic to be taking his time with something for once- to be putting precision before speed. Sure, the paint strokes were coming faster than they typically would from another Mobian, but it was still slower than the speed Sonic would’ve been going had he been doing literally anything else.

It was a strange thing, to have the Mobian _this_ close to him and to not be pounding him into the dirt right now.

Metal decided to distract himself from this fact by opening up some files in his database and reading them. It wasn’t as if he could do anything else at the moment. Time flew by quickly, and soon enough Sonic was nearly done. “Okay, um, Mets- you’re probably gonna have to do the last part of this coat yourself,” the hedgehog told his metallic twin. “There is no way in a million years I’m gonna be caught dead painting _your_ butt.”

Metal beeped in response, his version of an amused snort. He thought about throwing back at Sonic some quip, but nothing was coming to mind. In any case, he was not overly fond of the concept of the other hedgehog painting his rear either. Standing in front of a large metal pipe in the wall, Metal studied his reflection for a moment. Sonic had done a fairly good job painting him- the only spots missing paint were his “butt” as the Mobian had put it, and his front in the same general vicinity.

Metal glanced over at Sonic, who was apparently talking to Tails at the moment. The robot then began painting. Given that he didn’t have too much of a large area to cover, the procedure went by quickly. Since by this point the black paint on his head had pretty much dried, Metal decided to open up the other can of paint. He was surprised at how fast the paint even dried in the first place. Perhaps it was a special kind that Tails had concocted himself? That would make sense. The fox was extremely intelligent, after all. It wouldn’t be surprising that he’d have developed a kind of paint that could dry many times faster than its normal counterpart.

No doubt Sonic was to blame.

Metal dipped one of the unused brushes in the can and set to work. Making swift yet precise strokes, a plan began to manifest itself in the mech’s CPU. He knew exactly where to put the paint and how to paint it so as to accurately capture the 3D image in his head. Once he was finished with the details on his head, he started working on his arms and torso. And then lastly, his legs. There wasn’t really much he wanted to do in terms of his legs, but he felt there were some areas where they could use a little colour. Soon enough, he was finished, and all that was left was to examine himself to see if there were any spots he missed. There were none. He studied his reflection still, now attempting to determine if he liked the change or not.

“Wow- nice work, Mets!”

Metal warbled in surprise, dropping his paint brush in the process. It fell to the floor with a light clatter, leaving a small puddle there in its wake. He whipped his head to the side and looked at Sonic, who was standing next to Tails a ways away, arms crossed and a smile on his face. Tails’ expression was the same as earlier- stressed, but otherwise unreadable. 

“How is that in any way surprising to you?” Metal asked, tilting his head. “I am a machine. It is within my nature…” He looked away from them and stared at his reflection. What is a reflection? A copy. A fake. Not real. Underneath his new, almost dry paint coating, he was still just that. A facsimile. A shadow. No matter how much he denied it, no matter how much he insisted that Sonic was the copy and that Metal was the true Sonic… in actuality, it was the other way around. Sonic had always been the real Sonic, and Metal nothing more than his copy. 1.00059686 seconds later, and Metal’s claws were sinking into the pipe before him, tearing into it like scissors would tear into paper, shreds of aluminum fluttering to the floor.

“Mets, stop it! What are you doing-?!”

Metal whipped around to face Sonic, a low growl emanating from his voice chip. “I can _feel_ it. I can feel it, even underneath this new guise. I a-a-am-a-am still- s-st-s-sti- still- ERROR-” The robot fell to his knees, clutching his head between his hands.

“Metal?” For the first time, there was less hate in Tails’ voice. There was also… concern?? Metal didn’t like it.

 _He should hate me, he should h-6449 m-3rkkkv- why does he care-why do any of them c-a-a-ca-c-357349848dkjfhhhhh- ERROR, ERROR, ERROR-_ Metal beeped in pain as his neural net began to overload. “It _hurts-_ everything _hurts,”_ he hissed, before limply collapsing onto his side with a _clank_.

* * *

When Metal’s primary systems came back online, the first thing that registered was that he was lying on a table. The second thing that registered once his sensors were also online was that he was still in Tails’ workshop, and the fox himself was the only one present.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Tails asked, turning his attention towards the metal hedgehog in question.

“I appear to be functioning,” Metal answered. His sensors also detected some form of headgear attached to his head. The computers said headgear was attached to beeped at regular intervals. The robot lifted his hand to try and remove the thing, only for Tails to grab his wrist before he could reach it. “Let go of my wrist immediately,” the mech told the fox, an edge of warning to his digitised voice.

“I’m not done scanning your neural net,” Tails told him firmly. “And it’s gonna take a little while longer, so just sit tight and wait.”

Metal yanked his wrist out of Tails’ grasp. “My neural net is not something to be tampered with. Release me at once, fox!”

“I don’t take orders from you.” Tails crossed his arms and glared at the mech. “Feel free to try and get the scanner off, but for your information- I’m just trying to help. Your neural net’s been getting itself caught up in loops,” the fox explained, turning away from his patient to face the computer in front of him. “I’m not sure exactly why, but my guess is that it’s being caused by certain ideas or problems that keep coming up in your CPU. And whatever these thoughts are, you’re so troubled by them that you start thinking about it over and over until the code being used to process the information quickly becomes corrupted, causing errors in your system. And there’s only so many loops your neural net can take in a short amount of time before it crashes.

“So I’ve been taking a look at it with my scanner so I can try to find the source of the problem. It’s been… difficult. Your neural net is _very_ complex. It looks like it was modelled after an actual brain. Our Eggman’s had some pretty crazy inventions over the years, but I’ve _never_ seen anything like this. I mean, I guess maybe your Eggman’s knowledge of technology is a lot more advanced than our Eggman’s, but still…”

Metal didn’t respond. Instead he asked, “Where is Sonic?”

“He went out to visit the other me and get stuff from the hardware store,” Tails replied. “He’ll be back soon.”

“Acknowledged.”

Tails looked back at Metal. “Do you remember what you were thinking about each time the loops started?”

“What do you care?” Metal demanded, his voice lowering to a growl. “I know you hate me. Everyone hates me.”

“Sonic doesn’t seem to hate you,” Tails pointed out.

“He is only an exception because he _pities_ me,” Metal shot back. “And you still have not answered my question. What do you care? Why are you wasting your time with me when I can more easily be disposed of and forgotten about?”

“Because you promised you’d help us stop the other Eggman. And I’m holding you to that promise. Not because I trust you, cause I don’t- but because we’re going to need all the help we can get, and you know that Egghead better than the rest of us do. Yes, the other me has knowledge about him too, but not nearly as much as you do. _That’s_ why I’m doing this.”

“So, in other words, you are only helping me out of necessity,” Metal clarified. “You are helping me because you need me.”

“I’m pretty sure we could still stop him on our own, thank you very much. But it would probably be a lot harder, and we can’t take any chances,” Tails said.

Metal turned his head away from the fox, clenching his fists. Of course. Of course, why would he think anything different? Something deep inside of him had both hoped and feared that Tails might’ve figured out who he truly was, underneath all this armour and circuitry. _Sentimentality,_ Metal thought with disgust. Disgust that could only be directed at himself. He was pathetic. The copied soul of a broken hero who wasn’t even a hero anymore, writhing inside the cage he called a body. _Why didn’t Eggman kill me- he should have- why didn’t h- h-h-3 58029384djjfjfffvvvv-_

“Metal? Hey, Metal!” Tails’ voice snapped him out of the loop. Metal looked up at the amber fox. His crimson digital eyes glitched, several of the pixels flickering on and off for a few seconds before stabilising again. “You with me?”

“I am present,” Metal answered.

“You got stuck in another loop again,” Tails told him. “Can you tell me what you were thinking about? Don’t think too much about it- just enough to tell me what it was.”

Metal was silent for about 3.0567685 seconds as he considered whether or not to reply. “I am a copy, am I not? A twisted reflection of your friend… a facsimile… a _fake.”_ Tails was silent, so he continued. “And no matter what I do, I will always be just _that._ I am not ‘the real Sonic’, or anything else for that matter. I never have been. I will always just be ‘Metal Sonic’ the _copy-”_

“Metal, just because you were built to match Sonic in all his physical traits doesn’t mean that you _are_ his copy,” Tails said firmly. “The only things that are really similar about the the two of you are your speeds, and your ‘enthusiasm’- if it can even be called _that-_ for racing each other. And with your new paint job, you don’t look much like him anymore either. Metal, you’ve got your own personality, your own skillsets, your own speech patterns- you’re definitely not a copy. You may have been created with Sonic’s template, but in the end, you’re still _you_. _”_

Metal had to admit, he wasn’t expecting Tails to try to make him feel better. And it actually worked. A little, anyway. “This is correct,” Metal replied after considering the fox’s words for a minute. “The past ten years since my _… creation_ have caused great differences in our personalities. I… am not a copy. I am my own person.”

“Right!” Metal was visibly startled by the smile on Tails’ face. It felt… good. It felt good. In that moment, that ache in Metal’s mechanical heart made its presence known again. Tails had gone out of his way to make him feel better, despite claiming that he was only helping out of necessity. Perhaps he really did care, and just… didn’t want to admit it.

Metal wanted Tails to know the truth. He wanted to hug his little buddy again. _His_ little brother. “Prower-” Metal’s voice crackled as he corrected himself. “Tails?”

Tails looked down at him. “Hmm?? Yeah?”

“I-” The words died in his voice chip as Sonic burst in, Miles in his arms and Silver the Hedgehog at his side. Metal mentally cursed both his and Sonic’s awful timing.

“Sonic!” Tails jumped up off of his stool. “What the heck do you think you’re doing?! He’s supposed to be-”

“In the hospital?” Sonic interrupted. “Yeah, I know, but this couldn’t wait. There were some, ehh… complications.”

“Complications?” Metal asked as Tails detached the scanner from his head.

“If we don’t stop Eggman today,” Silver explained, “then he’s going to destroy the world as we all know it. In a vision, I saw the future- _my_ future, the one I’ve fought so hard to fix… it’ll be changed. He built some kind of device that turned the whole planet- _everything_ into _metal._ The cities, the wildlife, the _people_ \- everything!”

Metal stiffened at the words as he sat up. “Accessing encrypted file… you say that in your vision, everything on the planet had been turned to metal. This is correct?”

“Yeah,” Silver said, nodding quickly.

“Then the Doctor has completed his superweapon,” Metal replied, pushing himself off the table. “‘The World Roboticiser.’ A device he hoped to construct that would turn convert all matter on a planet into machinery. He would have an entire robotic empire, under _his_ control- they would all end up like- like-” He stumbled towards the inter-dimensional machine Tails had been working on.

Tails snatched up something from one of his worktables on the way over to his machine, and handed it to Silver. It was a wrist-comm. “Here- you guys will need it to be able to tell me when you’re finished over there.”

Silver nodded. “Thanks,” he said quietly, putting on the wrist-comm. He turned around to see Sonic and Metal were already standing in front of the machine.

Tails walked over to the console that controlled his invention and initiated the power-up sequence. As the machine itself began to hum to life, a violet portal slowly beginning to swirl inside the device’s arch, the fox turned his gaze to Sonic with a worried look in his eyes. “Please be careful,” Tails told his friend. “Please come back safely.”

“Don’t worry, li’l buddy,” Sonic replied, offering the amber fox a smile. “I won’t let you down.” Metal shook his head. That unwavering confidence was going to be Sonic’s undoing someday… just like it was for him. The robot then wordlessly followed Silver through the portal, Sonic right on his heels. Regardless of what Metal thought of his counterpart’s over-optimism, they still had to stop Eggman at all costs.

 _And when we find him,_ Metal thought, looking down at a clawed hand as he stepped out of the portal and into the scorched remains of the world he had once sworn to protect, _I will end the Doctor_ myself _. Even if it kills me._ He looked up and took in the terrible sight around him. What was once a proud city was now nothing more than shattered rubble strewn across the ground. Parts of some of the more durable buildings poked out of the ruins, but other than that…

“This… this is _your_ world?” Sonic asked, his voice cracking a bit.

Miles turned his head to look and said after a moment, “Yeah… I think so…”

“Affirmative,” Metal added. “The dimensional signature of this planet is an exact match.”

“So where do we start?” Sonic asked, turning to Silver.

Before the light-furred hedgehog in question could answer, a voice called out from behind them. “Who the heck are you, and what’re you doing here?!”

All three hedgehogs whipped around to see that the portal that they had come through was gone. In its place stood a familiar echidna, who had his arms crossed and was scowling at them. His scowl instantly faded upon seeing a certain blue hedgehog.

“Sonic?” he asked, his voice now suddenly quiet. “Is that really you?”

Sonic gave him a sad smile. “Hello to you too, Knux,” he replied. “And yeah, that’s me… but before you say anything, I’m not _your_ Sonic…”

“What- that doesn’t make any-” Knuckles turned his gaze on Silver. “Aren’t you supposed to be on patrol right now?”

“I’m sure the other me _is_ on patrol,” Silver muttered.

“We will explain everything to you in due time,” Metal added, looking away from Knuckles and rubbing his armoured arm awkwardly. “In the meantime, we ought to move to a more secure location where we can talk without fear of being attacked.”

Knuckles’ eyes narrowed upon seeing Metal. Even with his new paint job, the echidna could clearly tell who he was. _“You,”_ he hissed.

“Wonderful,” Metal muttered. “The echidna wants _another_ fight…”

Sonic stepped in front of Metal before Knuckles could do anything. “Look, can we _please_ save the brawl for later?? We’ve got Eggman’s latest world-domination scheme to worry about, not to mention Tails still needs medical attention _right now_ cause his wound hasn’t even fully healed yet!”

Knuckles’ eyes widened a bit- his gaze locked on Miles, who was still in Sonic’s arms, and unconscious now at that. He had thought Miles was... the echidna clenched his fists. His business with Metal could wait. “Follow me- our base of operations isn’t far from here!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the heavy angst, y'all- unfortunately, this isn't going to be the end of the angst. If anything, there's plenty more to come! I have mixed feelings about this chapter, but I feel that way about every chapter so... whatever. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, FLAMES are NOT.


	5. Chapter 5

_Knuckles’ Base of Operations…_

“So how long do you think Tails is gonna be in there?” Sonic asked as the four of them sat in the chairs placed just outside the medical room. Well, technically the three of them- Metal stood a bit off to the side, watching them silently with his arms crossed.

“Probably a few hours at most,” Knuckles answered, looking at him, then Silver, then at Metal, then back at Sonic again. “So, you mind tellin’ me what in the heck is even going on here before I drag the rest of my crew into this?”

“Your Tails got injured in a fight with some Egg Pawns and managed to escape to my world through some kind of portal,” Sonic explained. “My Tails and I took him to the hospital, Mets followed us there, and then your Tails explained to us what’s been happening here in your world. So my Tails built a device that could open a portal for us to come here, Silver showed up talking about having had a vision of a super-roboticiser thing that Mets called a ‘World Roboticiser’ that would destroy our world if your Egghead wasn’t stopped, so we came here to do just that. We would’ve come here eventually to help you guys out anyway… I just didn’t think it would be so soon.”

“And why is _he_ here, exactly?” Knuckles asked, pointing at Metal. The mech glared at the echidna, but otherwise didn’t move.

“He’s here to help,” Sonic told him.

“Riiiight.” Knuckles stood up from his seat and walked over to Metal, cracking the joints in his hands as he did so. “Gimme one reason not to pummel you into the ground and turn you into scrap, you sorry excuse for a _copy.”_

Metal stiffened at that last word, which had undoubtedly been thrown at him as an insult. He stepped back, reeling. It was one thing for Metal to tell himself that. But for one of his former friends… The mechanical hedgehog shook his head and stepped back forward. _“I_ am no _copy.”_

“Says the Buttnik slave built to look like my dead friend,” Knuckles shot back viciously.

“Knux,” Sonic started, standing up and approaching them. “That’s _enough_ -”

“I am _not_ a slave,” Metal growled, crimson eyes flashing with warning as he glared at Knuckles. “I belong to _no one_ but _myself._ _I_ am _my_ own person now, and I will do what I see fit. And if what I see fit is to assist you in the defeat of the Doctor, then help you is what I will do.”

“Yeah? And what if you see it fit to _betray_ us, huh?!”

Sonic grabbed Knuckles by the shoulder and roughly pulled him away from Metal. _“Knuckles!_ I said that’s _enough!_ _I_ trust him! I know it’s hard to believe, but Mets really is here to help. I wouldn’t be saying any of this if I thought otherwise.”

Knuckles considered Sonic’s words for a long moment, turning them over in his mind as he thought about how to respond. Finally, he let out a sigh. “Fine. _Fine_. But only because _you_ trust him, okay? I still don’t trust him one bit, but… I’ll try to keep from pounding his face into the dirt until _after_ we beat Eggman.”

Metal let out an annoyed beep. “The fact that the echidna is in charge of this Resistance is deeply concerning to me.”

“I guess I better go tell everyone else the situation now,” Knuckles said, ignoring Metal and looking at Sonic. _Don’t punch the robot. Don’t punch the robot_. “You guys should stay here for now so nobody else sees you until after I explain things. Pretty sure Amy’s gonna be crushin’ you in her arms either way though.”

“Should we worry about any angry mobs?” Silver asked, speaking for the first time since they got there. “Unless… you’re not going to tell them about Metal being here?”

“I’ll leave Metal outta the story for now,” Knuckles answered, glaring at the aforementioned robot a moment before looking over at Silver. “The last thing we need is a base-wide panic just because _he’s_ here. We’ll talk more afterwards, and see if we can come up with a plan of attack to take out Eggman and his World Roboticiser once and for all.”

“Guess we’ll see you later then,” Sonic said.

“Yup.” Knuckles made his way towards the exit, then stopped in front of the door. He looked back at Sonic. “It’s good to have you back… even if you’re not our Sonic.”

Sonic just nodded, not sure what to say. And then Knuckles left the room, leaving the three hedgehogs to their own devices. Silver sighed, letting his face fall into his hands. “I swear, my life is literally cursed,” he muttered.

“Are you alright?” Metal asked before he could stop himself.

Silver lifted his head up to look at the mech, a tired expression on his face. “Huh? Oh- yeah. I’m fine. Just can’t seem to catch a break…”

“I know the feeling,” Sonic replied, plopping back down in his chair. “I knew the world was weird and all… I just never thought it would get to be _this_ weird. Parallel universes… Eggheads even worse than the one back home… and to top it all off, déjà vu! I don’t think our Eggman’s used the roboticiser in almost ten years.”

“I still wonder,” Metal spoke up, “as to why a portal opened up to allow this universe’s Tails to come to our world. It does not seem… logical. Things like that do not just ‘happen.’”

“I think I might know of one,” Silver said, leaning back in his seat. “You ever hear of multiple multiverses?” He didn’t wait for a response. “In addition to parallel universes in our multiverse, there are also multiverses parallel to our own. They’re all interconnected by a region of space I discovered not too long ago called the ‘Genesis Nexus’ by its long-gone inhabitants.”

“How’d you find it?” Sonic asked.

“My Time Stone was being a bit finicky that day,” Silver explained. “It sent me to the Genesis Nexus, and I kinda wound up getting myself stuck in a bunch of different multiverses until I finally was able to get back home. Apparently there are portals opening up all across the different multiverses- in some of those multiverses the amount’s even more concentrated. My guess is it’s because they’re closer to the source. I never got a clear explanation from anyone on that though. But it’s possible our multiverse is being affected by the same thing the other ones are.”

“I think I liked it better when I thought there was just _one_ universe,” Sonic muttered, rubbing his brow. He could already feel the inevitable headache coming on. Just before the blue hedgehog could go on, the waiting room door swung open. “That was pretty darn fast, Knux-” Sonic looked up to see that the newcomer was in fact not Knuckles at all, but instead a young wolf.

Her eyes were closed to the point of squinting, which was the first thing Sonic noticed. The second thing was that almost the entirety of her body, minus her head, was robotic. She wore a leather jacket and gloves, as well as a pair of rocket shoes similar to Shadow’s. And her hair was a bit spiky, to the point of seemingly being gravity-defying.

“Oh, hello,” she spoke up, her voice timid. “I think I took a wrong turn back in the hallway there… I’m trying to find Mission Control- sorry, I’m new here- I don’t suppose you…” She trailed off, her head turned towards Sonic. “Wait, are you-?”

“Not your Sonic, no,” Sonic interrupted.

The wolf deflated slightly upon receiving this information. “But then… who are you?”

“Knuckles is supposed to be explaining the situation right now,” Silver told her.

The wolf nodded slowly. “Commander Knuckles did say he had something important to tell everyone, and that we should all meet up at Mission Control. Why aren’t you there, Silver?”

Sonic groaned, letting his face fall into his hands. “I can’t wait till we get to the butt-kicking part of this thing…”

“We are meant to stay in this room until the echidna returns to speak with us further,” Metal answered. The wolf stared at him, and then tilted her head in puzzlement. Oddly enough, she did not appear afraid of him. “It would be… optimal if you did not inform anyone else of _my_ presence here.”

The wolf tilted her head in the opposite direction. “Who are you?”

Metal’s optics dilated slightly at the query. How could this canine not know who he is? What he has done? It was possible that perhaps, due to her squint, she could not see him very well- but Sonic was further away from her, plopped in his seat, and yet she still recognised the Mobian. Maybe it was Metal’s new paint job? But Knuckles could tell it was him even with that. It did not make sense. “Restate your query. I require additional data in order to calculate an optimal response.”

The wolf sighed, and lifted a gloved hand to her forehead. “Your aura. I can feel your aura. It… is similar to Sonic’s, but… it’s much more faint. It’s been… damaged.”

“Wait…” Silver stood up, looking at Metal, then at the wolf, and then at Metal again. “So I’m not crazy?? I thought- I sensed it too, but I couldn’t be sure!”

“Aura?” Sonic asked, looking back and forth between all three people in confusion.

“Lifting rocks with my mind isn’t the only thing I can do,” Silver told him. He then said to Metal, “But it doesn’t make any sense- you’re a _robot._ I shouldn’t be feeling anything from you, and neither should she.”

“This discussion is terminated,” Metal told them, stepping backwards and sinking into the shadows of the nearby corner. “I will not engage in this topic any longer. Any and all further queries on this subject or anything related to it will be ignored.”

Sonic sighed, rubbing his brow. He knew _exactly_ why Silver and the wolf both sensed similar auras from them. Despite having little knowledge of the subject, he knew there could only be one explanation for this. And he definitely wasn’t going to just volunteer that information to the two psychics without Metal’s explicit permission. It hurt to keep this a secret, especially from his friends.

But Sonic had made a promise.

He might as well try to steer the conversation away from the robot. So, he looked up at the wolf and asked, “So what’s your name, kiddo?”

“Mech,” the wolf answered. “Just… Mech.”

“Mech,” Sonic repeated. An odd thing for parents to name their kid, but then again, perhaps she had chosen it for herself. Sonic knew it would be rude to ask why, given that the reason was pretty obvious. Assuming she _had_ named herself, that is. Heck, any more questions about this could probably be seen as rude.

“Yup.” Mech gave him a small smile, her robotic tail swooshing back and forth. “Don’t wear it out.”

Metal studied Mech from the shadows, analysing her body. It appeared that she had been partially roboticised, and fairly recently at that. Metal had seen similar cases, back when he was under the command of this universe’s Doctor Eggman. Not all roboticisations were completed on the first try. It usually took another attempt to finish the job.

Interestingly, it appeared that in Mech’s case that she was either able to escape or was rescued (or both) before the second attempt could be made.

She was like him. Turned into a weapon against her will…

Yes, Metal knew there had been other roboticised individuals who were able to escape the Doctor’s wrath and join the Resistance, but at the time it only showed him just how far he had fallen. He had fallen so far that others were able to do the one thing he couldn’t, and that was escape Eggman’s clutches and fight for their world.

 _I had a choice,_ he realised. _And I was blinded from it by my own fear._

Sonic the Hedgehog was not supposed to feel fear. He was supposed to show only bravery and strength in the face of danger. Never fear.

But it was like Tails said.

Metal was an individual. _He_ was not Sonic. Despite having been made from the same template through roboticisation, he still was a separate entity.

_I am not a copy._

What defined a copy?

_Copy (definition- one of several): a thing made to be similar or identical to another._

Perhaps, when he was first roboticised, he was merely a copy. But to be a true copy, the object in question had to remain similar or identical to the original entity. Metal no longer fit either term. He was very different from the Sonic sitting in the chair just a couple yards away. Yes, they both wanted to protect the people they cared about. But Sonic was pure. Metal was twisted. Sonic was selfless. Metal was not. Sonic did not hold grudges. Metal did.

_Opposite (definition- one of several): a person or thing that is totally different from or the reverse of someone or something else._

While the term was not fully accurate in terms of Sonic’s and Metal’s traits, as they still did have _some_ similarities, it was also clear that they were extremely different individuals. They were not the same.

Therefore, Metal was not a copy.

Metal was an individual. He was not Sonic, but he was not Metal Sonic either. He was simply himself. What was “himself?” How would he _define_ “himself?” Metal didn’t know yet the answer to either question.

But one thing was clear as day in his CPU.

If he truly wanted to be free, if he truly wanted to find “himself,” then a variable must be removed from the equation. A variable that has been holding him back since the very beginning.

Doctor Eggman.

In order to be free, Eggman had to be destroyed. This Metal had been planning to do since his decision to assist Sonic, but now he realised that this was not simply for revenge’s sake- though it was most certainly a factor.

No.

The Doctor had to be destroyed for Metal to be free. But where there was one Eggman, there was another- these alternate realities, these multiple multiverses proved this. Ergo, Metal had to destroy all incarnations of the evil scientist.

_Modifying mission data… reprogramming parameters…_

_Initialising…_

_New primary objective created: Destroy all versions of Doctor Eggman from all realities. Calculating chances of success…_

_Chances of success: ERROR!! NON-REAL CALCULATION. MISSION COMPLETION IMP-_

Metal deleted the error message. _Nothing_ was going to stop him from completing his mission. He had to eliminate this pesky variable at _all_ costs. He would not stop until his sharp claws were sinking deep into the last Doctor Eggman’s throat.

Even if it was the last thing Metal would ever do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if Knuckles was OOC in this chapter...
> 
> Also, Mech is an OC I made based on one of my Avatars from Sonic Forces, but she's probably _not_ going to have a very big impact on this story. I might work on a separate fic specifically for her at some point, but this story is about Metal. Not her. So I don't think we'll be seeing Mech again for the remainder of this story.
> 
> NOTE: Feel free to ignore the following pointless ranting ahead. I have a bad habit of ranting about stuff, lol.
> 
> Another thing- after rewatching some of the Sonic Forces cutscenes... I gotta say, the game really isn't that bad in terms of story. I actually like the story for the most part, but there are definitely moments that could've used more work. Some of the dialogue was too cheesy. Gameplay was alright, I never was a fan of the Classic Sonic levels, and I wish the Avatar levels were slower paced and allowed for actual exploration versus just racing through to the finish. An actual hub area where my Avatar could just run around and pester the main cast all day would've been nice too- the Resistance base would've made a perfect hub world. 
> 
> Story-wise, the game was good. Not perfect, but good. Gameplay-wise? They could've put off releasing the game for a while longer, and maybe made gameplay more interesting and engaging. (Also, being able to actually turn the camera would've been nice). Overall, it was a good game. But it could've been so much better if they had just waited a little bit longer. 
> 
> Sonic Forces isn't the best Sonic game, that's for sure. That title, in my personal and most likely biased opinion, belongs to Sonic Unleashed (I love Were-Sonic's floof, okay? And the Were-Sonic levels were a lot of fun for me. Plus, the story was really touching and bittersweet, while still being light-hearted enough to be a Sonic game.) I also liked Sonic 06 (story-wise, I watched the cutscenes on YouTube, so Idk how the gameplay is so I can't really judge that aspect of it until I can actually play it). Except for the moment where Elise kissed Sonic. That moment was not needed. I prefer to see Elise and Sonic as having a sibling-like relationship. That's the feeling I got when first watching the game's cutscenes, so the whole kiss thing... it just didn't feel right to me (and it has nothing to do with species and blah de dah). Same with Sonic and Amy (sorry, not sorry SonAmy fans).
> 
> This could be due to my current and probably permanent bias to ship Sonic with another character (feel free to guess who, kudos to whoever gets it right).
> 
> NOTE #2: Pointless rant ends here. Hope this chapter was okay, and if anyone has any thoughts on how I can improve it, please let me know. Constructive criticism is appreciated, FLAMES are NOT. 
> 
> Thank you.


	6. Update

I'm sorry to say that I'm probably going to have to end this fic- I've written myself into a corner, and quite frankly, I have mixed feelings about the way I've executed this story. There's quite a bit that I've done with this fic that I am proud of, and then there's stuff that I feel is ehhhhh...

I think I just kinda need to start fresh with this concept.

So here are my plans:

I'm going to keep this story up for those who want to read up to this point. I will write down in a separate document the scenes that I am proud of writing, and then I'm going to start sort of fresh with this concept.

I'll write down an actual outline this time so I don't write myself into a corner again, and then I'll fill in the blanks. I'll try to work some- if not all- the scenes that I'm proud of into the new version of this fic, and rewrite them if need be (you know, to avoid loopholes and such). I also want the new plot to be a LOT more slower-paced, and allow room for smoother character personality and character relationship development as well as plot development.

And finally, I'll try to build up a small stockpile of chapters so that way I can post regularly and not random-ish like I tend to do with my other fanfics. We'll see how that works out.

I'm sorry again to bring you this news, I know some people were enjoying this fic a little. But hopefully you'll like the new and improved version more once it's out! 

See you then! Take care (and wear your masks, or I'll unleash Neo Mets on you~)


	7. Update #2

Just wanted to announce that I am now posting chapters of the fanfic [Is "Close" the Closest Star?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27282538/chapters/66656086), which is based on the same general concept (Metal Sonic being a roboticised version of Sonic), but with a different plot overall. You might recognise a few partially rewritten scenes, but other than those scenes and the concept, this fic is turning out to be very different from its predecessor.

Anyways, if you wanna go read it so far, please feel free. Bye bye now!


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